An analysis of Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program exercise results. Volume 2: Preliminary evaluation and analysis of CSEPP exercise database

This study investigated the quality and usefulness of the information in the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program (CSEPP) exercise database. It incorporates the results of two separate analytical efforts. The first effort investigated the process of assigning standardized codes to issues identified in CSEPP exercise reports. A small group of issues was coded independently by each of several individuals, and the results of the individual codings were compared. Considerable differences were found among the individuals` codings. The second effort consisted of a statistical multivariate analysis, to investigate whether exercise issues are evenly distributed among exercise tabs, sites, and objectives. It was found that certain tabs, sites, and objectives were disproportionately associated with problem areas in exercises. In some cases, these problem areas have persisted over time, but in other cases they have undergone significant shifts over the time span of the investigation. The study concludes that the database can be a useful resource for analyzing problem areas and setting priorities for CSEPP program resources. However, some further analyses should be performed in order to more fully explore the data and increase confidence in the results.